One Man's Trash
by Os the reborn
Summary: Daretti, the Scrap Savant, had his planeswalker spark ignite when his apprentice Muzzio sabotaged his most recent project. However, what if instead of landing on Kaladesh, he landed on a different plane that was just as excited about weaponry and artifacts and technology? Watch as the trashlord Goblin Planeswalker makes a meteoric impact on remnant that changes fate itself!


**So I was perusing some lore in the Magic the Gathering storybox, and came across a particular character, and I found his story to be quite interesting. As a result, I was struck with a brilliant idea: to bring him into the rwbyverse, where a great many interesting things could happen. So here we go, the trashlord himself on Remnant, Daretti.**

**I don't own Magic the Gathering or Rwby. If I did, I wouldn't be slowly going broke buying Magic the Gathering stuff…**

**Eheh….**

**My bad.**

**#########################################**

Searing, agonizing pain.

That was all that could go through Daretti's mind as his latest experiment blew up in his face. He couldn't understand what was happening. The goblin artificer was highly intelligent, and none of his projects failed before. In fact, he specialized in turning other people's failures into his own successes! As fire engulfed his body, and a shockwave slammed into his stout frame, he was flung backwards. Everything seemed to move in slow motion as he lost feeling in his legs, and his head slowly turned as he flew through the air. And there he saw Muzzio, his prized pupil, not at all looking surprised at the situation.

Ah.

So that was it, huh?

The plane of Fiora was rife with political corruption and power moves, each member of the high city vying for more than they had. He knew it all too well, as he had to survive the game himself to reach where he was now. Goblins were never known for class or intelligence, and with the exception of his old pal Grenzo, warden of the palace dungeon, goblins were rarely if ever seen in the prestigious High City of Paliano. So his rise through the ranks had resulted in a great many disgruntled, disgusted, and outright outraged nobles becoming upset that a lowly Goblin was able to reach a position of such importance.

Muzzio was always too big for his britches, always wanting more, and in that split second of eye contact, he knew with absolute certainty that Muzzio had rigged the test to fail. He knew this would happen and hoped that he, Daretti, the Scrap Savant, would be killed in the blast.

And he certainly would have been killed, had an ability as old as the cosmos and only found in one in every million people not intervened. Before he could hit the wall, Daretti could feel a second fire ignite. However, this was not the searing, scorching flames and shrapnel of exploding machinery. This fire was warm rather than hot, comforting rather than contorting, empowering rather than debilitating. The power surged through the pain-wracked body of the most brilliant goblin, and he found himself feeling as though he were falling through a great nothingness. He could feel the presence of strange beings in the void, and dared not move before he found his eyes pierced by a blinding light. He squinted his eyes shut with a groan before blessed unconsciousness took him.

**#####################################**

"Glynda, please share what you know."

"Yes Professor Ozpin. The huntsman who called in the strange energy flare was on a mission to clear out a horde of boarbatusks spotted in the area. He had just finished his mission when he said he felt something intermingling with his aura. Then there was a spike of energy that battered his aura and vanished. He called it in immediately, and is waiting for us to arrive before continuing on to see where it came from."

Ozpin moved to look out the window of the bullhead flying low over the Forever Fall Forest. Normally he would have trusted the huntsman to investigate the situation on his own, but there was a gut feeling that this was much bigger than he realized. Now he and his telekinetic assistant Glynda were on the move to see what this strange "aura flux" was. Soon they reached a clearing and the ship descended, opening its doors for the passengers to disembark. They approached the huntsman standing at the edge, a huge grizzled veteran with a huge one handed axe on his back.

"Mr. Grun, it has been a while since we last saw each other. How have you been?" The wiry gray-haired headmaster asked, leaning slightly on his cane. The much larger male shook his head.

"I'd love to chat, professor, but I honestly feel quite uncomfortable with this whole situation. We can catch up once we have figured out whatever in Dust's name that thing was. I've never felt anything like it."

"Very good, then, would you mind leading the way to where you felt the energy coming from?"

The Headmaster, Assistant, and Huntsman all proceeded through the forest of red leaves, moving quickly yet silently to avoid attracting any attention from the less desirable residents of the forest. Soon they came across another clearing, and witnessed a truly bizarre sight.

A crater sat in the middle, the dirt on the sides turned to glass, the surrounding trees smoking and slightly charred. And in the very center of the blast zone lay a body. It was a short body, made shorter by the charred remnants where the figure's waist used to be. Immediately upon seeing the critically injured person, the three professionals rushed to check for signs of life.

Yet they were in for yet another shock when they got close enough to see who was lying there. The male, and it was most certainly a male judging by the facial hair, had green skin and large, pointed ears. He was wearing the remains of a once pristine white outfit, and his arms were rather disproportionate. All that aside, he seemed rather humanoid, and didn't carry any weapons on him.

"He's alive! Poor bastard, I wonder what the hell happened to him…" Grun mumbled, shifting the unconscious figure. Glynda pulled out her riding crop, the purple haze of her aura flaring around the very strange individual. Ozpin nodded as the being was lifted.

"Let us head back as quickly as possible, and pray that we are not too late…"

**################################**

Daretti slowly awoke to the sound of quiet beeps and the feeling of comfortable sheets. The goblin blinked a few times and opened his eyes, squinting at the bright light above him. He grunted and shifted, pushing himself upright so he could take a look around at his surroundings. Immediately he had a good feeling that he was no longer anywhere near Paliano. He was alive after all, and not dying in some alleyway. The bed was quite comfortable, the sheets a clean white. He looked to the side and saw some machinery hooked up to his arm, pumping a fluid into his body. The machine was beeping along the same rate as his heart, so he connected those dots very quickly. His mind was already whirling with blueprints and drafts on how to improve the machinery.

However, when he moved to try and get a better look at it, he felt something rather important missing. He whipped the sheets back, revealing neat bandages at around where his hips were, and… nothing. No legs, no feet, no toes. He blinked a few times in shock, trying to put together what he was looking at. He knew that the explosion had to have done some severe damage to him, but he did not realize just how bad it was going to be. His only consolation is that his hands were intact. As long as those were safe, he could continue his profession. He could build new legs for himself!

Once more, the goblin's mind spiralled off into blueprints and drafts, mumbling quietly to himself. But yet again, his thoughts were interrupted. He looked up as the door opened and a figure walked in. All of Daretti's political experience on Fiora came to the forefront of his mind as he analyzed his visitor. He could tell immediately that though he did not necessarily appear it, this older man was both incredibly strong, and held immense political sway. He smiled his grin of sharp, yellowish teeth and extended his hand.

"Hello there, I assume you are the one who saved my life." Daretti said, shaking the hand once it was outstretched. "My name is Daretti, Master Artificer of the High City of Paliano. Might I know the name of my savior?"

Professor Ozpin smiled. The strange figure, now identified as Daretti, was surprisingly well mannered and quite charming. "Certainly. My name is Professor Ozpin, Headmaster of Beacon Academy. You were found by Mr. Grun, a huntsman, while he was patrolling the Forever Fall forest."

Both men maintained their polite smiles, but both of them were quickly trying to wrap their heads around what the other had said. Sure they were both speaking the same language, which was fortuitous enough, but the terminology was different. They both gave nervous chuckles and shook their heads.

"I think we have a lot to go through. Would you care to tell me how you ended up here?" Ozpin said, pulling up a chair and sitting down in it. Daretti chuckled and shook his head.

"Information is not that cheap, friend. Care to trade information for information? That can easily be arranged." The artificer said, shifting back so he could lie against the backboard. Ozpin chuckled.

"You're a shrewd one, but not incorrect. Very well, once you answer my questions, I will answer any questions you might have."

"Good. Well, I suppose it all started with my rise to the High City."

"High City? You've mentioned that twice now. What is it?" Ozpin asked, leaning forward.

"Paliano, Capital city of Fiora. Seat of King Brago."

"Hmm… Can you point to where Paliano is on this map?" he said, pulling out his scroll. Daretti's eyes opened wide as he took in the complex machinery.

"Whoa-whoa-whoa. What is that?"

"My… scroll?"

Daretti grinned and rubbed his hands together. "Yes, your scroll, though it doesn't look like a roll of paper. Can ya tell me what it does?" As he started to get into his artificer-obsessed mindset, he started to slip out of his more professional state and began to resort back to the goblin's more natural casual tone. This was something Ozpin noted immediately and smiled.

"Well, it works as a long-ranged communication device, and it also has unlimited access to the internet, an online information database. Think of it like access to every library in the known world."

Daretti's grin became even wider. "Now that's a treat Ah could sink mah teeth into, there." He chuckled. Then he cleared his throat and looked at the outstretched map, furrowing his eyebrows together so they looked like a furry caterpillar. "No, I can't say that any of this looks familiar… Perhaps… that might be the case." He looked up. "Have you heard of a planeswalker before?"

Ozpin shook his head. "No, I can't say that I have. What is a planeswalker?"

"I don't necessarily know everything about them, but there was one called Dack or something who would come through Fiora frequently. He said that there are several other planes of existence and Planeswalkers can travel between them. Something about a spark in a very few members of any sentient race anywhere in the multiverse… But basically through extreme trauma, the spark ignites and the person can travel freely between dimensions. It… well it all seemed a bit ridiculous, but I think that I might have become one of them…" Daretti scratched his scruffy beard along his chin with a knobbed finger.

Ozpin sighed and placed his head in his hands, massaging his temples. "Well… that is certainly a bombshell you've just dropped, but not exactly the strangest thing I've ever heard… I don't think we need to elaborate on what your… trauma was. The evidence seems quite clear to see." He looked up at the legless figure on the bed. "However… I hope it doesn't seem rude, but… What are you? You don't look like any of the races here on Remnant…"

Daretti laughed. "What, never seen a goblin before?"

"You mean like in fantasy stories? Forgive me, but you hardly seem like the brutes they tend to be in the media."

Daretti laughed even harder. "Why thank you! I've worked long and hard to get away from those imbeciles. My homeland's goblins are most likely what your media portrays them as. That certainly didn't help me rising through the ranks. Talk about some strong prejudices! Pretty sure that it played a part in the accident that cost me my legs. By the way, what kind of magic are you using to keep my wounds from hurting?"

"No magic, just medicine. We don't have much actual magic here. It is possible, but the users are very few and far between. I assume from that response that magic is commonplace where you come from?"

"Yes, and I am a specialist in artifact magic. The creation of constructs and tools to help life in general. I was the Master Artificer at the Academy there before my apprentice rigged my most recent experiment to explode in an effort to climb higher in the ranks. Paliano is a city where you must always watch your back, and I guess I didn't keep an eye close enough and it nearly cost me my life." Daretti sighed and rubbed the sides of his head, his ears twitching slightly as he thought back to the searing agony that overwhelmed him as the project exploded.

Ozpin perked up. "So you can create machinery and things like that?"

Daretti puffed out his chest. "Oh much more than that! They nicknamed me the Scrap Savant, the man who turns trash into treasure! I have a habit of going through my students' scrapped projects and turning them into masterpieces, all to show them that you can work with what you have and still make something impressive."

Ozpin got a sly grin. "Would you perhaps like to be reinstated as a professor here? This is a battle academy, teaching students how to become warriors to defend us against the evils out there."

"Before I make such a decision, I need to know more about this world. What evils are these students fighting? Other countries? Each other?" Daretti asked, raising an eyebrow.

"No. There are these things called the creatures of Grimm, soulless beasts drawn towards negative emotions and exist only to destroy life itself. That is what we train them to fight."

Daretti whistled. "Sounds rough. Makes sense you would want them to fight. What is the political structure like? How heavy is society layered?"

Ozpin couldn't help but wince slightly at the question. "It is… complicated. There are only four major kingdoms left not overrun by grimm, and each one is very different. They are all led by a council of leaders, but each culture varies. Atlas is a military state, Mistral is divided pretty heavily economically into two classes, with the upper being arts focused and the lower turning to less savory careers. Vacuo is… Vacuo is a mess. And here at Vale, I consider it to be one of the most peaceful and respectable of the four kingdoms."

"And how many races are there? Race relations? How will they handle someone like me that they have never seen before?" Daretti leaned forwards slightly, curious about the answer.

"There are two distinct races, Humans and Faunus. Relations between the two are… strained at best. There was a war, and slavery was a big issue in the past. Nowadays, people still discriminate against them, and there is the group called the White fang that is most certainly not helping the situation at all."

"White Fang?"

"They started out peacefully…" Ozpin said, shaking his head. "Wanting equal rights, holding protests, all sorts of stuff like that. But like most groups of such nature…"

"...They found fear to be more effective at getting attention." Daretti finished, nodding his head. "Brago had to take care of many groups like that to maintain his rule. I was friends with the dungeon warden, Grenzo, who would tell me about them. I know all too well about the struggle the faunus must be going through. If I were to take this teaching position, what classes would I teach? I am not certified to teach any history of your realm, and I was never much for combat." He laughed sourly and gestured towards the bandaged stumps. "Now more than ever, I'd say."

"Our students have three main ways of fighting. First are tactics, simple enough. Second are their semblances and aura, which I guess can be seen as magic, except each person has their own unique powers that can not be taught to other people. Instead we help them refine their control. And finally there are their weapons. Each weapon is one that can shift between a long range projectile based weapon and a short range melee weapon. I would put you in a position where you could teach maintenance and how to upgrade your weapons. If you are truly as good an artificer as you claim to be, I would think of no better person to teach such a class." Ozpin said with a smile, leaning up and back against his chair he sat in.

Daretti laughed. "Well, that's quite the deal you are proposing. What's in it for you? You are providing me, a complete stranger, with an occupation and I'm presuming living quarters. So what benefit do you gain from this? I can't imagine you would be doing this solely for the betterment of your students."

"You've caught me. I would like in return for all of this, to occasionally help me with certain issues that are of a more… clandestine nature."

Daretti shook his head. "I knew it. The game never stops playing after all." He looked up with a grin, his sharp, slightly yellow teeth bared as he outstretched his calloused hand once more. "You have a deal. Now, what say you to bringing me to the nearest scrapyard? I have a few ideas for new legs, and I would like to see what I am working with here…"

**#############################################**

The students filed into the auditorium after being let off of the bullheads (with varying levels of enthusiasm), and Ozpin looked out over the gathered teenagers. Amidst the sea of faceless crowds, he could see the young Ruby Rose, the early addition to the school. From what he knew about her, she was probably going to really enjoy the new class. He smiled and stepped forwards, tapping on the microphone and clearing his throat.

"I'll… keep this brief. You have traveled here today in search of knowledge- to hone your craft and acquire new skills. And when you have finished, you plan to dedicate your life to the protection of the people. But I look amongst you, and all I see is wasted energy, in need of purpose- direction. You assume knowledge will free you of this, but your time at this school will prove that knowledge can only carry you so far. It is up to you to take the first step." He glanced over at Glynda next to him. "In other news, we have a new mandatory class with a brand new member of staff. He is quite… different, but I request that you treat him with the same respect you would to any other more established staff member. Thank you."

All of the students began whispering excitedly to each other about this mysterious new staff member, barely hearing when Ms Goodwitch gave them all directions to stay in the grand hall for the night. Ruby and yang were particularly interested.

"Yang, what do you think this new teacher is like? Do you think they've hired a Faunus?"

"I don't know, but it seems likely, given that request at the end there."

"I wonder what this class is about!" Ruby exclaimed excitedly.

Across the room, a particular Schnee heiress was also pondering this new staff member. She really hoped it wasn't a Faunus. Her father had done extensive research into Beacon to make sure there were no Faunus staff members that could get to his daughter, and hadn't found anything about any new teachers. That meant this teacher had to have been hired on the spot. She narrowed her eyes.

Elsewhere, hidden beneath a bow, a pair of cat ears twitched. The way Ozpin was talking, could they really have hired a faunus?

One thing was for certain, the conversations that night were fairly evenly split between theories about the entry test, and discussions about this new mysterious teacher.

**#################################**

"Alright, next on our schedule is… Weapon Maintenance and Upgrades with Professor Daretti? This must be the new class that Ozpin mentioned the other day…" Weiss Schnee stated, reading the piece of paper with the team's schedule on it. She had deemed Ruby too immature to be trusted with such a thing to not lose it (despite Ruby's protests). Ruby's eyes lit up.

"Ohboyohboyohboyohboy! Oh, this is going to be so cool! We get to see everybody's weapons, and learn all about the various bits of technology, oh this is so exciting! Come on! What are we waiting for?" With that final declaration and a burst of rose petals, a screaming Weiss was dragged down the halls at a breakneck speed. Blake and Yang looked at each other with one confused and one exasperated look, respectively.

"Is she…"

"Always like that? Yeah, but only when it comes to weaponry or cookies. We should hurry up if we want to save Weiss from having her arm dislocated." Yang joked before running to catch up with the two members of her team. Blake sighed with a smile and shook her head before following after them.

Once they got to the lecture hall, they all sat down together next to their sister team, team JNPR. Jaune, fearless leader of the team was looking kinda dejected, with the red headed champion next to him, trying to cheer him up. Yang leaned over to Ren.

"What's up with him?"

"Oh, he is feeling rather nervous about what the teacher will think of him and his weapon. Just a normal sword and a collapsible shield. Not much maintenance or upgrades required on that one."

"Ah I see. Well, he'd better get… da-ready for this class!" Yang said with a wink and a set of finger guns. A chorus of groans rang out from the people in earshot. Everyone started to quiet down, however, when they heard a very strange noise coming from the door behind the desk.

The desk itself was an absolute mess, piles of mangled machinery lying in misshapen mounds littered the desk, and a rather out of place apple sat impaled on an antenna. Everyone thought back to the words Ozpin had shared:

" _He is quite… different, but I request that you treat him with the same respect you would to any other more established staff member."_

A sense of slight unease permeated the class though, as they heard the rattle of machinery and the hiss of steam coming from the doorway. A weird metallic scrabbling was heard, and there was also a distinct _Chunk Chunk Chunk Chunk_ sound heard on the hardwood floor. Some students began shifting uncomfortably as others looked instinctively towards the door. The sounds were so ominous! But their imaginations could not prepare them for what was about to walk through that door and into their lives.

First were the bronze, insectoid legs. Two of them came through, walking along. That was followed by two more, much larger legs, reaching out in front but not touching the ground. As the figure continued through the door, more was seen. A cockpit with two enormous gears for wheels moved through the door, carrying a small, green figure. The larger legs could be seen connected at the back of the cockpit, and there were many levers sticking out of the panel in front of the diminutive pilot. And boy was the pilot a strange one.

Clad in a white shirt with bronze cuffs wrapped around his wrists and a blue overcoat with armor pads on the shoulders, the professor was quite short, from what they could see. His skin was a peculiar shade of green, with a shaggy mane of black hair sticking up at odd angles all over his head and wrapping under his large chin, giving him the appearance of a lion. Two large green ears stuck out from the sides of his head, and a pair of small, round spectacles sat on his chest. A bulbous nose sat above a wide mouth, filled with sharp teeth. The whirring and clicking figure rolled behind the desk and turned, facing the shocked, incredulous and outright flabbergasted looks of the now silent class.

Immediately, Daretti burst out laughing, holding onto his chest while slapping the sides of the machinery he sat in. "Man, the looks on your faces would be better suited for a tank of fish than a class of prestigious students! My name is Daretti, and I will be your professor of this class. Now if you all would be so kind as to close your mouths, I can explain a little bit."

"What are you!?"

The shout immediately drew everyone's attention to the back of the room, where Cardin sat. The racist bully was leering at Daretti with barely disguised disgust. It was a look that Daretti knew quite well from his past and sighed, lifting up a sheet.

"Cardin… Winchester? I can see how this will be. A legitimate question. I am a goblin. Yes, as in the creatures in your fantasy games, though I have worked long and hard to separate myself from the boorish idiots that make up most of my race." He got a sly grin on his face. "But it seems that no matter how hard I try, I just end up amidst more of them."

The class burst out laughing as Cardin sat back, furious, but also a bit embarrassed. Daretti turned to the rest of the class.

"As I'm sure many of you are wondering, yes, this machine is part of me. I lost my entire lower body as a result of a racist tampering with one of my projects in my homeland." This drew some gasps from the crowd, and the faunus among them winced in sympathy, knowing all too well the situation. "Now, I would like to discuss the rules of this class.

"Under no circumstances are you to mess with another person's project. It may seem like a harmless prank, but all it takes is one missing gear or one crossed wire, and I might have to make this a product for one of you." He said, gesturing towards the legs and wheels that made up his lower half. Another wince and uncomfortable shuffling from the crowd.

"The second rule is, under no circumstances are you to tell someone that their idea is stupid! All ideas deserve a chance to at least fail. Failure is a part of learning. What separates geniuses from fools is how quickly they can recover and learn from failure!"

"Next, don't throw any scraps or blueprints away! If you feel like you can not finish, hand what you have to me or maybe another student. One man's trash is another man's treasure. Every bit of these legs of mine are made from scraps found in the junkyard. No dust is used. Let this be an example of what you can do with someone else's refuse!"

"And the fourth and final rule is simple. Think creatively! There is no space for fear! Leap boldly into new projects, even if they seem impossible! Think of new ways to solve a problem! Hell, think of new problems that didn't need to be fixed in the first place! If it ain't broke, break it, then rebuild it twice as better!"

"Are there any questions about the rules for this class?"

No one raised their hands. Everyone was pondering what the goblin master had said, some of them feeling quite inspired. Ruby was practically bouncing out of her seat in excitement. That was something Daretti certainly took note of, a gleam in his eye as he recognized a kindred spirit.

"Excellent! Now…" He looked at his pocketwatch he pulled from his pocket. "There are only a few minutes before class is over. I'll give you a rundown on what to expect from this class. First, you will become intimately aware of your weapon! Not only that, but you will become very familiar with your teammates' weapons too. How they work, how to use them, every little detail down to how much tension the firing pin holds. What kind of team doesn't know their partner's capabilities? Secondly, you will upgrade your weapons. I am sure many of you are thinking 'oh that's ridiculous! My weapon is perfect as it is!' Well guess what? Nothing is perfect. Ever. Not at all. Anything can be broken, fixed, upgraded. If any of you have the audacity to boast that your project is perfect, I will personally destroy your weapon in front of you and build a much better weapon out of the contents of my garbage can. I can, and I will." He looked out at the crowd, noting some offended faces and some other nervous ones. He chuckled. "And finally, we will also have you build entirely new weapons out of limited materials. Again, some of you might think that you will be fine with the weapon you have. What if your weapon breaks when you're out in the wild? What if it jams, stuck in long range form as a group of grimm bear down on you? What if you've been captured by some sick psychopath, with no aura and no weapon? You will need to improvise." He once more surveyed the class, taking in the anxious looks several of them had, while it seemed like Ruby was about to explode from contained excitement. He grinned.

"But don't worry. The classes will be tough, but that's the point. This school is a forge, and you are the ores. You will go through fire, you will be bashed and beaten. But you will come out the other side far stronger. And if you think you're nothing? Think you're trash? Remember:" He slapped his hand against the side of his transport. "You just need to look at yourself from someone else's perspective! What you might see as slag, another might see as gold!"

He was interrupted by the bell ringing, signalling the end of class. As everyone began to get up and pack their things away, he rose his voice to be heard over the chatter. "YOUR FIRST PIECE OF HOMEWORK IS TO THINK OF SOMETHING YOU COULD DO TO UPGRADE YOUR WEAPON!"

He watched with a wide smile as the crowds filed out and through the door. He looked over and saw some students approaching him, as well as Ozpin nodding in the back of the room. He turned his attention (and his construct) to the four teenage girls walking up to his desk.

"And how can Ol' Daretti be of use to you four?" He asked, rubbing his chin. The four girls were very different from each other in terms of appearance. The diminutive red caped girl spoke up first.

"Well… I was just super excited for this class! I always love working with weapons and learning about more! Are there any extra credit options you can have for me?"

Daretti laughed. "There won't be any extra credit, but I wouldn't mind having another apprentice. Some youthful legs could be of great use from time to time! Especially now that mine are gone. What about the rest of you?"

The white haired girl stepped forwards next. "I was curious about your legs. Why didn't you get some from Atlas? They are of a very high quality there, plus they aren't quite as… large and clunky as these are, no offense."

Daretti chuckled and shook his head. "Where I come from, you never let anyone do anything for you that you can't do yourself. Mostly because if you do, you could end up injured or dead. That way of thinking has stuck with me, now more than ever. The accident was fairly recent, after all."

"What was the accident? I'm almost certain that someone like you in an accident like that would have made headline news the world over." The black haired girl with the bow spoke this time.

Daretti shook his head. "There's a reason for that, Kitten." He noticed her stiffen up immediately. "The reason it wasn't heard the world over was because it wasn't this world. I won't say any more on the matter. I'm sure you could understand the desire for privacy about where one comes from." He saw her nod but narrow her eyes suspiciously. He also noticed the white haired girl nodding very slightly as well off to the side. He turned to the buxom blonde. "And you?"

"I'm just here because the rest of my team is. But I was kinda wondering what could have happened to blow through all of your aura and leave you like this?"

"I won't tell you, you seem like an intelligent enough woman. Think back to my lecture. Think about the issue creatively! I can't wait to hear your theories next class. But my only hint is this: It's probably simpler than you think."

The four girls' questions having been answered to some odd degree, they walked off, whispering among each other. He looked up and saw a blond haired boy standing back, looking incredibly uncomfortable and shifting his feet. He sighed with a smile.

"Come on kid, step forward and spit it out, I don't bite."

Jaune walked up to the desk, looking at his feet as Daretti's expert hands began fiddling mindlessly with some strange cogs and gears.

"S-sir…"

"Call me Daretti, kid. Sir just brings back bad memories."

Right, sorry s-Daretti. Daretti. Right. I was wondering…"

"Hmmmm?"

"Did you mean it when you said… if you view yourself as trash, try looking at yourself from another person's point of view?"

Ah so that was it. "Of course, kid. Back where I came from, Goblins were viewed universally as trash, mindless brutes more suited for menial labor than anything of importance. But I dreamed big, and fought hard, and I got there despite no one thinking I could except for me. Everyone thought I was trash, but I thought I could become treasure. And now look at me!" He laughed. "A professor teaching what I love at a prestigious academy!" He leaned forward.

"Look kid, I can tell. You dream big, and you want to get there. But you think it is just a dream, something you can not accomplish at all. You view yourself as trash, scrap on a pile of junk." Jaune couldn't help but close his eyes and nod dejectedly. "Well, my nickname was the Scrap Savant. My whole career was built on taking people's trash and turning it into something so much better."

"But I can't do that!" Jaune declared, brows furrowed. "I'm not some genius who can make high functioning legs out of piles of garbage! I can barely walk with the legs I already have!"

Daretti laughed. "Kid, that's where my little speech needs to hit home. Not everybody thinks you're useless filth!" He roared. Jaune jumped.

"T-they don't?"

"Kid, do you not see how that red-headed bombshell is draped over you?"

"P-Pyrrha?"

"Yeah, sure, her, whatever. I only saw her for a single class period, and I can most certainly tell that she likes you."

"That's nuts. She's nice to everybody!"

Daretti scoffed. "You have a long ways to go kid. She was sending glances at you the whole time. I could tell she wants to help you out. You want proof? Ask her for help and see how quickly she says yes."

"She won't want to waste her time helping me out. She's popular, and strong and famous. And I'm nobody!"

_Clunk_

"OW!"

Jaune ducked down, clutching the top of his head where one of the heavy metal limbs reached out and clonked him on the top of the head. "What the hell was that for?"

"I was testing the thickness of your skull. It seems quite sturdy, which explains why you are so OBLIVIOUS TO THE TRUTH."

"Sir?"

"DARETTI! Look kid." He held out his hand, revealing what he had been fiddling with. A beautifully intricate thopter took off from his hand and fluttered around, circling Jaune's head. He watched it in awe.

"This was once a toy. Someone threw it out because they thought it was ugly and useless. They thought it had no use anymore and threw it out. Sound familiar?" He remarked sardonically. "What did I do? I saw it as something that could be beautiful. I put in some work, and what happened? Well look at it now."

The filigree wings fluttered delicately as the thopter landed on Jaune's shoulder, almost as though it had a will of its own. Jaune looked at it in complete wonder, amazed at the talent displayed by the new professor.

"Keep it kid. Keep it and remember. Trash can be treasure. Now go on, you don't want to be late for lunch. And when you get there, ask Pyrrha for help. You'll thank me later for it, kid."

"Thanks… Thank you Professor Daretti. Thank you!" Jaune declared, running out the door and waving, the little thopter taking off and flying behind him. Daretti turned his attention to Ozpin as he descended down the stairs. He chuckled.

"Your school has quite the colorful cast of characters there, Ozpin. Far from perfect, hell, some are far from competent. But this is so much better than teaching at Paliano. Hell, almost feels like retirement!" He laughed, the mug toting headmaster chuckling a bit as well.

"Yes, they certainly are quite the collection. I will have to ask you to keep eyes on the team that came up to ask you those questions. They are quite the unique and bright girls, and I feel they have something in store for us in the future."

Daretti nodded. "Yeah, I noticed that too. Such a peculiar shade of eye color that young girl had. I don't know if I have ever seen eyes that were silver that were not artificial."

"Yes, those eyes do carry something behind them... " Ozpin noted. "By the way, I must commend you for that motivational speech there. I could tell several of the students were feeling it as they left."

"Something I learned from the city. The worst person to underestimate is yourself."

"I might have to use that in the future…"

"Feel free. Now if you'll excuse me, I have to prepare for my dramatic entrance for my next class. Their faces are pure gold!" Daretti said with a chuckle.

**###############################**

"A GOBLIN!?"

The members of team RWBY were all seated on their beds, watching Weiss pace back and forth in the middle of the room.

"What does it matter? He seems chill enough." Yang piped up from her position on her back in bed.

"Have you not seen what goblins are? They are filthy, disgusting cave dwellers! What could have possibly possessed Ozpin to hire someone like that?"

Blake scoffed. "Really, Weiss?" She said, rolling her eyes before looking back at her book. "I wouldn't exactly call him a 'disgusting cave dweller'. Sure his teeth and hair could use some work, but still. He seems incredibly intelligent in his field. Besides, didn't you hear him? Some racist tampered with his project and nearly killed him."

"What does that have anything to do with it?"

"It means that he was so brilliant that someone was scared. Someone wasn't comfortable with the idea that a goblin could be as smart or even smarter than them and wanted him gone. I think that speaks to how intelligent he is."

Weiss scoffed. "As if. Probably told that story to try and get some sympathy points from other people."

Ruby finally chimed in. "Weiss, Blake, please stop fighting! I personally think Professor Daretti is really cool! Didn't you see that thopter thing flying around Jaune today? He told me that the professor had made it out of random scraps off his desk after we left the room! He must be super talented to do something like that!"

"You're just excited because he might make you his apprentice." Yang teased, throwing her pillow at her sister.

Ruby yelped and threw it back. "Well, yeah! Who wouldn't want to learn from him! Besides, didn't you see the way he shut down Cardin? That was great!" She laughed, only to receive another pillow to the face.

Soon the whole situation escalated into a downy feather-covered war, with pillows flying everywhere and Weiss and Blake seeking shelter from the storm. In the room across the way, Jaune looked at the door, hearing the commotion.

"Gee, I wonder what that's all about…" He mumbled, the little thopter landing on his head. Nora perked up.

"Whatever it is, it sounds like fun! Come on Ren! To war!" She declared, grabbing the exasperated Mistral boy and dragging him out the door. Jaune gulped nervously, now alone in the room with Pyrrha.

_Keep it kid, keep it and remember. Trash can be treasure._

He closed his eyes and slowly exhaled. He hadn't asked the Champion for help when he got to lunch like Daretti had demanded. He was far too nervous to admit something like that when there were so many other people there. But now that he was alone, he turned to face her. The thopter on his head fluttered its wings, which actually comforted Jaune a little bit.

"Pyrrha?"

**############################################**

**And there we have it! The first chapter of this story, completed! Not sure where I'm going to take this, or even if I will continue it. Already our glorious scraplord is making ripples in the world, and they can only get bigger from here. I hope you've enjoyed this story, and feel free to leave a review if you have any opinions on characterization or anything of the like. **

**Thank you so much for reading!**


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